


Rabbit hole

by pineapple_boop



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 14:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17962127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pineapple_boop/pseuds/pineapple_boop
Summary: This is my first time writing a fic! I'm really excited about starting this whole experience, but still really new to it, so be gentle with me :) I've wanted to write something for McDanno since the first time I saw the show and I'm glad I finally did! I originally intended for this to be slow burn, but it ended up only being semi-slowburn lol.This is set at the beginning of season two of the show, because that's where I left off the last time I was re-watching the show. I hope you enjoy! Feedback is always welcome, so don't be scared to let me know what you think!





	Rabbit hole

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fic! I'm really excited about starting this whole experience, but still really new to it, so be gentle with me :) I've wanted to write something for McDanno since the first time I saw the show and I'm glad I finally did! I originally intended for this to be slow burn, but it ended up only being semi-slowburn lol.This is set at the beginning of season two of the show, because that's where I left off the last time I was re-watching the show. I hope you enjoy! Feedback is always welcome, so don't be scared to let me know what you think!

“Chin! Get back here, we need backup!”, Steve yells into his phone as he jumps in the driver's seat of Danny’s Camaro. “We could’ve avoided all this if someone would just listen to me”, Danny grumbles while shutting the door to his car, maybe a little harder than necessary. “Not now Danno, we need to catch this guy”, Steve reverses the car back on the dirt road to follow Vick, the only lead they have in this case.

Danny grabs the dashboard at the sudden acceleration, “Oh don’t pretend like you can’t drive my car and argue with me at the same time.” Steve tries to hold back a smile because of Danny’s comment. The bickering they do while in the field doesn’t bother him nearly as much as it probably should. It’s a good stress reliever and Steve knows that at the end of the day, they have each other’s backs.

With a focussed expression, Steve steers the car next to the jeep the kid’s driving in. The guy’s only 21 and just one of the little guys, but the little guys always lead to the bigger ones. Right now, they just need information, it doesn’t really matter from who. Now, even Steve must admit, this road isn’t really wide enough for two cars. They’re hitting bushes and nearly a few trees on the left side of the Chevy. Steve’s not going to pay for a new paintjob though.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing, Steve? I don’t want to be dragged into your ridiculous attempts to get yourself killed!”, Danny screams while he turns his head to face Steve. He’s way too occupied with trying to keep the car going straight without hitting any trees, so Steve barely even hears what Danny’s screaming about.

Despite his obvious annoyance towards Steve’s driving style, Danny opens the window next to him and starts shooting the rear tire of the jeep. Luckily, Vick’s also too busy trying to avoid a head on collision with a tree to do anything about it. The rear tire of the jeep flies apart, making the car spin out of control and come to a stop by hitting the overgrowth at the side of the road.

Steve pulls the handbrake, turning the car sideways. Danny jumps out of the car before it even comes to a complete stop, running towards the hopefully still alive suspect. While he’s getting out of the car and running around it, Steve hears Danny yell something, followed by two gunshots. He immediately checks if Danny’s okay, who still has his gun pointed at the crashed jeep.

Steve curses and runs up next to Danny, gun raised. “What happened?”, he asks his partner while Danny checks Vick’s pulse and shakes his head. “He was still conscious enough to remember he wanted to kill me”, Danny explains as he unloads his gun and puts it back in his holster. Steve curses again and runs his hand through his hair in frustration. “That guy was the only lead we had”, Steve says after which he starts pacing up and down the road.

With his arms crossed and leaning against the beat-up jeep, Danny follows him with his eyes. Steve feels his gaze resting on his shoulders and turns around to face him. “Why are you so frustrated all of a sudden? We’ll figure this out”, Danny’s still looking at him, now with a frown. Steve realises he isn’t really sure why this is bothering him so much. He’s always been like this, especially in these situations with a great deal of adrenaline pumping through his veins and the responsibility of leading these cases pushing on his shoulders. But lately, he’s been getting really frustrated way easier.

He frowns and opens his mouth to let Danny know he’s okay, but before the words can leave his mouth he hears the familiar sound of Chin’s motorcycle roaring behind him. 

 

Steve stands hunched over the digital table that stands in the middle of Hawaii 5-0’s headquarters. With the team around him, he’s trying to figure out how to tackle this case they where now completely stuck on. As he looks at the table with a frown, sliding around pictures and the little information they’ve gathered, Steve hears Danny clear his throat.

He looks up and meets his partner’s blue eyes, which look down on him. He isn’t sure, but he thought he saw some worry in Danno’s eyes, beside mild irritation. But before he has a chance look closer, Danny averts his eyes to look at Chin and Lori next to him. “It’s getting pretty late and I think we could all use some rest, Steve”, Danny locks eyes with him again, with a look that’s almost stern.

Steve sighs and looks away, attempting to escape the worry that’s now definitely in Danny’s eyes. “Yeah you’re right, you guys can go home. I’m going to look over the case file again”, Steve could barely end his sentence before Chin and Lori where leaving the room muttering some soft goodnights and dragging their tired bodies through the glass door. Danny however, crosses his arms again and looks Steve up and down.

Steve noticed a weird flutter in his chest, which he decided to ignore, and goes on with looking through the files. Or he pretends to. Because he can’t really focus on anything with Danny staring at him like that. In an attempt to prove to himself that Danny’s not making him nervous, he decides he isn’t going to crack under Danny’s stare.

“If you’re going to drive my car tomorrow, I’d like you to get some sleep tonight so my chances of living to see the weekend increases slightly”, Danny tells him in a low voice. Steve chuckles, “I think I can take care of myself, thank you.” Danny turns around to grab his phone, finally turning away his eyes. “Sure mister SEAL, just don’t lock yourself in here for the night, okay?”, Danny says with a tired tone in his voice.

Steve nods at him, walking towards his office to continue studying the case from there. He hears a soft grunt from behind him and hopes Danny will just leave, so he can figure out what’s been bothering him so much. Danny’s question from earlier that day really caused him to think about what was going on. A distraction he can’t really afford right now. He releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he hears the door close behind him.

* * *

Danny throws his keys on the table and pulls his shoes off as he closes the door to his apartment. He immediately walks to his fridge to get a beer. As he opens it, he realises he has a headache, probably because he’s been frowning during the entire ride home. He relaxes his expression and sighs.

Even though he doesn’t really want to admit it, he’s worried about Steve. His partner isn’t the most emotionally stable person he knows, but lately Steve’s been agitated way easier than usual. Especially with the kidnapping case they’re working on right now, the type of case that always gets Steve all round up.

The victim’s neighbours reported what sounded like a fight at night, after which they didn’t see her for an entire day. That was yesterday. The girl's lucky that her neighbours are so attentive, because Dany remembers enough cases where people reported people missing much later. Everybody on the team knows that the longer it takes to find the girl, the smaller the chances get of finding her.

Danny knows that the lack of progress they made in the past few days is frustrating the hell out of Steve. His partner takes his responsibilities as leader of the task force very seriously. He sometimes gets the feeling that Steve feels like he’s responsible for every single person on the island.

In an attempt to forget his worries for Steve for a while, he sits in front of his TV and watches the first movie he finds. When he finally turns off the mediocre movie he was watching later that night, he feels like he’ll fall asleep as soon as his head hits his pillow. 

 

With a groan Danny searches for his alarm to turn it off. He tries to rub the sleep out of his eyes and pulls off the covers. He shivers when his feet hit the cold floor and grabs a clean shirt from his closet.

After getting dressed and brushing his teeth, he grabs his keys and heads outside. He decides he could go for a cup of coffee, so he drives by his favourite coffee place. Danny usually isn’t that much of a morning person, but lately he’s been really fond of his time alone before the time in his office. This time it also wouldn’t hurt to look over the case again, to see if he could find any new leads.

With a cup of coffee and a bagel in his hands, he pushes the door to his office open with his back. As he does this, he notices Steve’s already in his office. Danny frowns, had he been here all night? He puts his coffee and bagel down on his desk and walks over to Steve’s office, irritation and worry growing in his chest.

“You better tell me you haven’t been here all night”, he says as he pushes the door open. Steve jolts in his chair, his muscles tensing under his shirt. After he notices it’s Danny, his expression turns blank and he blinks a few times before turning back to his laptop to continue typing.

Danny puts his hands flat onto Steve’s desk and leans over to get his attention, “Hey! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me, Steve.” Steve looks up again and his blue eyes meet Danny’s. Damnit, why do those eyes always get to him so much? Somehow, he always feels like he could get lost in them, however cheesy that sounds. And in this soft morning light that falls through the blinds, Steve’s eyes have hints of gold in them.

He stands back upright and crosses his arms, attempting to protect himself from whatever Steve’s eyes are doing to him. “I didn’t think you’d be in this early”, his partner explains with a shrug. Danny huffs at Steve’s nonchalant answer, “If you’re not going to answer my question, at least tell me if you found something.” Steve opens his mouth to answer, but Danny interrupts him, “Let’s discuss that somewhere else, it smells like something died in here.” He hears Steve chuckle as he turns around to head back to his office.

He leans against his desk and looks at Steve as he approaches him. Danny notices that he hunches while he walks and the muscles in his shoulders look tense. Steve rubs his face as he starts to explain what he found when he pulled Vick’s phone records. Danny hands Steve his coffee, Steve probably needs it more than he does right now. Steve looks at the cup hesitantly for a second, but eventually takes it with a thankful look in his eyes.

* * *

 

He can’t help but stare at the way his arms look in that button up as Danny explains to the rest of the team what Steve discovered last night.

Steve remembers telling Danny that he looks good without a tie, but he must admit he regrets that a little now. A part of Danny’s collarbone’s showing and it makes Steve’s heart flutter. He decides it’s because he’s just foggy and easily distracted due to the lack of sleep last night.

“Lori and Chin, if you guys investigate Lahela’s apartment again, Steve and I will go talk to the woman we pulled off Vick’s phone records”, Danny orders after he’s done explaining. Usually Steve takes the lead in assigning the team, but this morning he’s just too distracted, so he let Danny take this one.

Chin and Lori nod and head out the door. Danny gathers his stuff and Steve watches him as he sips the coffee Danny gave him. Watching the back of Danny’s head, he thinks about the things he tried to figure out last night.

He was happy he had the case to work on as a distraction. His thoughts were running circles in his brain and there was a strange pressure in his chest that didn’t seem to want to go away. Steve figured he’s just stressed because the investigation his father was working on isn’t going too well. Not to mention the tension in the team surrounding the death of the governor and Kono’s dismissal from the police force. Steve sighed thinking about the whole situation, that definitely did more to him than he wants to admit.

 

While Steve drives to the last known address of the woman he found last night, he can feel Danny’s tension as he’s sitting next to him. Something’s clearly wrong, but Steve doesn’t want to ask him, afraid to set him off on one of his rants again.

Danny’s looking out of the window with a frown, which seems to be stuck on his face lately. Just as Steve turns his attention back to the road, Danny looks away from the window to talk to him.

“I would like to know what’s been going on with you lately”, he states matter-of-factly. He raises his eyebrows, clearly expecting an answer. Steve wishes he could just brush it off with a laugh, but for some reason he feels frustration rising in his chest.

“I would like to know why you won’t leave me alone, Danny”, he starts off, “Because I think I’m a grown man and can take care of myself.”

Danny scoffs at his answer. “Oh really? Good for you, Steve!”, he responds, raising his voice. "It’s just that some of us have a kid to get back to, so I think I have a right to know if you’re okay before I put my life in your hands!”, Danny’s voice gets higher as he wildly gestures with his hands.

“I’m fine Danno, but I just really want to solve this case, okay?”, Steve’s answer to Danny’s fit sounds smaller than he intended it to be. “I know that”, Danny replies, bringing his voice down. “I want that too, just please don’t get us killed in the process, okay?”

Steve grunts to this, somehow annoyed by Danny’s tone again. He knows he’s being ridiculous, Danny just wants to be sure they’re both save. But for some reason, he still can’t shake the nasty feeling in his chest as he pulls up in front of the house.

 

“Well, that went great didn’t it?”, Danny notes sarcastically. Steve doesn’t answer as he pulls open the door to Danny’s car. “At least we can cross another person off the list”, his partner says as he plops in the seat beside him.

“Hm”, is all Steve can get out in form of an answer. This case was getting to him. Their victim, Lahela, had been kidnapped because of the ties her ex-boyfriend had to a criminal group on the island.

Said ex-boyfriend died in a gunfight two weeks ago, but the group he used to work for seems to want something he had. Whether that be information or something else, they probably think Lahela can give that to them. But the poor girl probably doesn’t know anything and Steve isn’t getting any closer to saving her.

He feels Danny’s intense gaze on the side of his face, but decides to ignore it. “Seriously Steve, what’s going on?”, he asks, that frown on his face again. “Stop prodding okay? You don’t need to know everything that’s going on!”, the answer came out louder and harsher than he expected.

Steve hears the familiar sound of Danny sucking in air through his nose, but he stops him before he can start a fight again. “Just stop. Okay Danno? Just stop and leave me alone.”

Danny clearly didn’t see that coming, because he goes quiet and faces the window. This really isn’t like him, Steve was already gearing himself up for a heated discussion. Steve looks at him and can almost see the frustration radiating off his partner, his frustration immediately melts away and he regrets how harsh he sounded earlier.

* * *

Frustrated, Danny runs his hands through his hair. He’s sitting at his desk trying to find a new lead in this case, but it just isn’t going anywhere. It honestly feels like he’s just banging his head against a wall, hoping that’ll solve something.

He sighs and looks at the time. When he notices it’s already 7 pm, he decides to call it a day. He believes there are better ways to spend is Friday night.

Gathering his stuff, he looks around to see if Steve’s still working. He’s not surprised to see him in his office, bent over some files and his laptop.

He frowns, something he can’t seem to stop doing. What’s been Steve’s problem lately? He still hadn’t figured it out. But something that bothered him just as much, was why he cared so much.

Steve’s his partner and his best friend, he couldn’t really imagine life without him. But, Steve’s always been like this, hadn’t he? Steve always gets sucked into cases, always got a little frustrated when things didn’t go his way and he surely hated not making progress.

Still, this time something felt different. There was something off about the way Steve has been behaving, but Danny can’t really place what it is and why it’s been giving him an annoying kind of sting in his chest.

He didn’t even realise he was staring until Steve looked up and locked eyes with him. He quickly looked away and felt his face turn red. This was seriously getting ridiculous. He needed to get some sleep or something, because surely he wasn’t blushing because Steve looked at him, god.

Walking towards Steve’s office with a determined pace, he pushes the door open and notices Steve’s still looking at him. “I’m heading off, see you next week”, he tells him and immediately walks away again, suddenly remembering the tone in Steve’s voice during the drive back to the office.

He tries to ignore the sting in his chest spreading to his stomach as he walks away, feeling Steve’s gaze against his back.

 

“Oh, come on!”, Danny yells at the plate he just dropped on the floor. He was in a really bad mood today and that really ticked him off. This was his day with Grace and he wanted to enjoy it.

He drops to his knees to clean up the mess, cursing under his breath, as he heard shuffling behind him. “Is everything okay Daddy?”, he heard Grace’s soft voice ask. “Yeah monkey, I’m fine, just dropped a plate”, Danny grumbles back.

Grace doesn’t say anything while he cleans up the mess, but doesn’t walk away either. After he’s thrown away the broken plate, he turns to face her. “Everything’s okay now monkey, I promise.”, he says with a soft smile. Grace nods, her ponytails jumping on the sides of her head.

Danny follows her back to the living room and sits down on the couch, watching Grace draw something he can’t quite make out on an empty sheet of paper.

Without him wanting to, his thoughts turn to Steve again. He can’t help but worry about him. It doesn’t even really bother him that Steve was so blunt yesterday. If anything, it makes him worry more. Steve usually really isn’t like that. Why is he pushing him away like this?

“I’m going to get something to drink, do you want anything, monkey?”, Danny asks as he gets up and walks towards the kitchen. “No thanks”, Grace answers, bringing a smile to Danny’s face because of how nonchalant she sounds. She was starting to look like her dad.

While he’s pouring himself some orange juice, he hears a loud bang and a scream from the living room. His heart jumps to his throat and he runs out of the kitchen to see what’s going on.

“Are you okay?”, he yells, falling to his knees in front of Grace to inspect her for any injuries. Grace is looking at him with big eyes and nods. “What happened?”, Danny asks as he looks around and notices a broken glass on the floor. “I knocked it over”, Grace answers in a small voice.

Before he realises what he’s doing Danny snaps back at her, “You scared the crap out of me! Don’t do that again!” He’s shocked by his intense reaction and immediately regrets it, seeing Grace look away as tears form in her eyes.

“Oh monkey, I’m so sorry”, Danny says softly as he pulls her into a hug. “I’ve just been having a really bad day, but my response was way too harsh.” Grace sniffs and tells him that it’s okay. “No, it’s not okay”, Danny sighs as he hugs her a little tighter.

This was seriously getting out of control. He was talking to Steve first thing tomorrow morning, he had to know what was going on so he could start acting normal again.

* * *

 

Steve paces around his office with his arms behind his back as he stares at his phone on his desk, as if he can make it ring by just looking at it. He rubs his hand over his chin, feeling the stubble that had formed over the last three days. He had been working on the case none stop, but he was sure he was finally getting closer to solving it now.

He had found a new lead while digging in Lahela’s ex-boyfriend’s criminal records. After finding a connection to a well-known drugs trafficker on the island, he called one of the agents that used to work in that field, to ask if he could find out where this guy could be staying.

Now he’s waiting for him to call back. For about 47 minutes now, he realises when he unlocks his phone to look at the time. He rolls his shoulders in an attempt to get the tension out and pulls a pained expression at the discomfort that seems to have been locked inside the muscles in his back for the past week.

He slept on the couch in office last night, wanting to call the officer first thing in the morning. That was the first full night of sleep he had in a four days, but his body still isn’t very happy about the pose he had to lie in on that couch.

He stops pacing and frowns when he hears footsteps behind him. Who the hell is coming to the office this early on a Sunday morning? His gaze meets a very agitated Daniel Williams as he walks towards him with an angry pace, like only Danny can.

Danny pushes the door to his office open and immediately starts yelling at him. “What the hell are you doing here Steven? It’s Sunday morning for god’s sake!”, Steve doesn’t think he’s heard Danny yell at him this loud before.

But he’s too occupied by trying not to get distracted by the way Danny’s shirt stretches around his chest and the way his hair lies messily on his head. He’s feeling a familiar flutter in his chest when he sees Danny dressed this casually and tries really hard to focus on his, slightly red, face.

“If I remember correctly, you told me you’re a ‘grown man who can take care of himself’, right?”, Danny says, making quotation marks in the air. “But as I see here”, gesturing at the mess around him and at Steve himself, in the same shirt he was in when Danny left on Friday, “you’re not, are you Steve?”

Danny seems to be done yelling and is looking at him intensely, but Steve doesn’t really know what to say. “I think I’m really close to solving the case right now”, he doesn’t know why he said this, but it seemed to be the only thing that could come out of Steve’s mouth.

Danny makes a sound that almost sounds like a growl and takes a step closer, shortening the distance between them. “Well that’s just great Steven, but what use is that when our commander passes out because he hasn’t slept in three days, hm?”

Now Steve seriously can’t think straight anymore, because Danny with his messy hair and his stupid jawline is right up in his face and he thinks his heart might explode out of his chest.

He’s also suddenly worried about the way he smells, because Danny smells amazing but Steve hasn’t showered in three days. His thoughts keep racing and he opens his mouth to say something, even though he has no idea what, when his phone rings. “Now that, would be my lead”, Steve says with a grin on his face, but a quiver in his voice.

 

“5-0! Drop your weapons!”, Danny yells as they enter a room filled with big guys and big guns. The officer Steve contacted had a very good lead and even though it was Sunday, Steve called up the rest of the team to raid the building Lahela was possibly in.

Unfortunately, Danny only wanted to let him leave his office if he let Danny take to lead. Steve wasn’t happy about this, but agreed. He needs Danny here with him.

Surprisingly, nobody starts shooting at them. Taking a closer look, the guys in the room are either high, fast asleep or both, so that explains the inactivity. Chin and Danny start handcuffing the people in the room and before they know it, they’re searching the building.

After a while, he hears Chin yell, “Over here!”, and he rushes over to where he heard him. He sees Lahela in the corner of a dirty room, hands tied behind her back, looking terrified.

Steve immediately rushes to her side, dropping his weapon so it hangs beside him. Lahela flinches, “It’s okay, we’re here to get you out of here, okay?”, he says in a soft voice. Right after he cuts the ropes around her wrists, she throws her arms around his shoulders and starts crying. Steve softly picks her up and carries her outside, hearing Danny call an ambulance in the background.

* * *

After Danny sees that Lahela’s being taken care of in the ambulance, he immediately starts to look for Steve. He spots him leaning against his car and Danny feels frustration swell in his chest again.

Why would Steve take such bad care of himself? Of course he’s happy they’ve solved the case now, but he can’t believe that Steve lost control that bad. He barely left the office for three days straight for god's sake.

He walks over towards him and grabs Steve’s attention. “Are you happy now, you crazy idiot?”, Danny asks, unable to hide the frustration in his voice.

Steve frowns, “I am, actually, why aren’t you?” Danny opens up his arms in a wild gesture, “Of course I’m happy Lahela’s safe! But I just would’ve liked it if you asked me to help you instead of crawling in your pit of madness back in the office!”, Danny’s getting angry again and he isn’t really sure why.

“Why are you always like this Danny? Why can’t you talk to me like a normal person?”, Steve asks with a sigh. “Because-“, Danny starts his sentence, but realises he doesn’t know what to say.

He breathes in sharply and runs his hands through his hair in frustration. While he’s doing that, he notices Steve looking at his chest, his arms and eventually his eyes. When Steve notices Danny was looking at him the entire time, he blushes and turns to look away.

Did he just see that right? Did he just see Steve McGarrett blush? Because of him? All of a sudden something clicks. He isn’t even sure what it is, but he knows that his frustration towards Steve wasn’t just because of the fact that Steve wouldn’t let him help professionally.

He seriously needs some time to think about whatever he’s realised, so he mutters that he needs some time on his own and walks away. Again.

 

Scared shitless, Danny decided he was going to go for a run. Now he was seriously questioning that decision. Unable to catch his breath, he hunches over next to a tree with his hands on his knees.

He sits down, leaning his back against the tree. He just ran full speed, on what was probably sheer adrenaline, for 5 minutes. He seriously needs to start working out again.

Resting his head against the trunk, Danny closes his eyes. What the hell is going on? Why did it feel his chest was going to cave in on him?

As his breathing calms down, he stands up again and slowly walks along the road he was running at, taking in the beautiful scenery. He hated this place at first, missing the busy streets in the serene surroundings of Hawaii.

But Steve made him feel like this could also be his home and now he can’t imagine a life anywhere else. Besides, he doesn’t think Steve would let him leave even if he wanted to.

Now that he thinks about it, there probably isn’t anybody he trusts more in the world. And now his feelings towards his partner are completely jumbled up and he isn’t sure what to think anymore.

As he stops to look at the view, he decides that might be the problem. Maybe he just needs to stop overthinking it so much. He just told himself he doesn’t trust anybody any more than he trust Steve.

So why is he so scared to face his feelings? Danny sighs, maybe he just doesn’t want to mess up the best friendship he’s ever had.

* * *

He’s pretty sure he would walk a hole in the floor of his kitchen if he keeps pacing like this. Steve stands still for the first time in the last 5 minutes.

He rubs his hands over his face and groans. Why is he feeling like this? He can’t use the excuse that the case is freaking him out anymore, now that they’ve solved it.

After seeing that look in Danny’s eyes when they got Lahela out of that horrible place, he got a feeling he still can’t place. Why does it feel like he’s terrified of losing Danny? They’ve been through too much stuff together to lose each other now.

Steve decides that he needs some distraction, so he walks out the door to his apartment and heads for the shooting range.

 

With a frustrated sigh Steve unloads his sniper and turns to lay on his back. He just missed three shots in a row. He never shoots this bad, but he just can’t seem to focus properly.

He stares up at the clear sky, trying to figure out what the hell he’s going to do about Danny and his feelings surrounding whatever had been going on between them lately.

He only realises he almost fell asleep when he hears a cough above his head. He jolts awake, noticing the silhouette of Joe hovering over him. Steve immediately jumps upright, “Good afternoon, sir.”

Joe smiles, “Stand down son, no need to be so tense.” Steve relaxes his posture and sits down on the grass when Joe does too. “I noticed your shooting there, kid”, Joe notes as he turns to look at him, “don’t think I’ve ever seen you shoot that poorly.” Some of Joe’s smile is audible in his words, but there’s worry in his eyes.

Joe trained Steve and was his commanding officer in the navy. Especially after losing his dad, Steve believes he wouldn’t be the man he is today without him. “I know, sir, I’m not sure what’s going on”, Steve says, looking away.

“I think you know that much better than you realise”, Joe answers, still looking at him. “You want to talk to me about it?”, he asks him. Steve sighs, he doesn’t even really know what’s going on himself.

But when he looks back at Joe, the words start spilling out. He tells him all about how frustrated he’s been lately, how easily agitated at everything, how he was a dick towards his best friend and how his heart does weird things whenever he looks at Danny for too long.

As he’s talking, Steve realises how much he sounds like a high school boy and he’s happy it’s Joe he’s talking to. Beside Danny, there isn’t anybody in the world he trusts more.

After he’s done talking, Steve has to catch his breath. Only then he realises the sun’s already setting. “Well son, it sounds like you know pretty well what your feelings are”, Joe tells him with a soft smile.

Steve looks up at him with a frown, but realises he’s right. Steve knows exactly what’s being going on. And it scares him beyond belief.

* * *

The next morning, Danny heads to the office a little later than usual. He wants to avoid being alone with Steve for as long as he can, still scared of the confrontation.

When he enters the building, the rest of the team’s already there. Steve clears his throat when he spots him and averts his eyes.

Danny has a hard time focussing on what Steve’s explaining about their next case. For some reason, his eyes keep getting pulled back to Steve's lips. He feels the same way as he did when he first met Rachel. He forgot how intense that feeling is.

After Steve’s done explaining, Chin and Lori leave the room to go talk to the parents of a murder victim. As soon as the door closes behind them, the tension turns thick in the air.

Steve turns his back towards him to type something on the table and pulls it up on the screen in front of them. “We have a witness report here, but I’m getting the feeling the guy’s leaving something out”, Steve tells him with a serious expression on his face. Danny also had a serious expression on his face, but for a completely different reason.

Steve clearly notices the look on his face, because he frowns when he looks at him. After Steve stays quiet, Danny decides he needs to talk to him abut what’s going on. He just can’t take this anymore.

“Can we please talk for a second?”, Danny asks him, the serious look still on his face. Steve suddenly loses his composure and starts fumbling around. “Um yeah sure, maybe”, Steve clears his throat, “we can talk in my office if you want to?” Danny nods and follows him into his office.

He immediately wonders if this was a mistake, when he notices it’s even quieter in Steve’s office. “You should open in a window in here, it still doesn’t smell great”, Danny notes, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I’m really sorry, Danno”, Steve tells him in a soft voice, completely ignoring his last comment. Danny frowns, “You don’t need to apologise to me, Steve.” Steve shakes his head, “No, I do.”

Steve takes a shaky breath and Danny’s really taken aback by how nervous Steve looks. He’s never seen him like this before. “I refused to take my responsibility as leader of this task force seriously, because I wanted to escape my feelings”, Steve’s looking more distressed by the minute and his voice quivers as he continues, “I behaved like an asshole.”

Danny feels himself getting angry at how Steve’s talking down on himself and takes a step closer towards him. “I agree you were behaving like an asshole”, Danny tells him in a stern voice, “but I should’ve looked after you. That’s my job as your partner.”

Steve looks at him with a frown, “Why do you want to take care of me so badly? I should be able to take care of myself just fine.” Danny feels frustration swell in his chest again, Steve really just wasn’t taking the hint.

He took a deep breath, “I’m trying really hard to keep myself from yelling at you right now.” Steve expression suddenly changes. He looks hurt. “Because that seems to be the only way I can show you I care about you”, Danny quickly adds.

Steve looks away and breathes in sharply, like he isn’t sure how to respond to this. Danny’s scared he’s said something wrong when Steve softly starts talking again, “I just don’t want to do it anymore, Danno.” Steve looks him in the eyes again and Danny feels his heart pounding against his chest.

“Our usual bickering is fine, but”, Steve stops himself to take a deep breath again. “I-, I just don’t want to fight anymore”, Steve adds in a small voice. Danny feels horrible about the fact that he probably made Steve feel like he was mad at him for the past three days, when in reality, he was just worried sick about him.

“Me neither”, Danny answers. Before he fully knows what he’s doing, he softly pushes Steve against his desk behind him and cranes his neck to push his lips against Steve’s.

He doesn’t really respond at first, but before Danny can question what he’s doing, Steve puts his hand on his hips and pulls him closer. Danny sighs and deepens the kiss.

He kisses Steve like this is the only way he’s able to explain to him how much he cares about him. He cups Steve’s face with one hand and lets the other rest on his chest. He feels his heart pounding beneath his fingertips and he’s happy this seems to do as much to Steve as it does to him.

After what seems like hours, yet also like only seconds at the same time, he pulls away to catch his breath. When he opens his eyes, he looks into Steve’s eyes and Danny believes they’ve never looked this beautiful before. Steve’s eyes are usually blue, but now they’re mixed with hazel and gold, and Danny can’t believe he gets to look at them.

Steve makes a sound that sounds like a combination of a sigh and a growl, and before he knows what’s going on Steve lips crash into his. When Steve pushes him against the glass behind him, Danny yelps softly, but recovers immediately to kiss Steve back like this is the last time he can.

Steve’s still holding his hips and Danny feels like he only just now realises what's going on. Steve McGarrett is kissing him. And Danny doesn't want hin to stop. Ever.

As that realisation hits him, it feels like Danny’s heart is in his throat, like fireworks are exploding in his stomach and like he’ll never have a comprehensive thought again.

As Steve kisses him even deeper, trying to get as close to him as he can, Danny holds Steve’s strong arms like they're the only things keeping him alive. When Steve finally pulls back, they’re both panting and Steve’s lips look slightly swollen.

Danny doesn’t let go of Steve’s eyes when he says in a hoarse voice, “Maybe you should get yourself that frustrated more often.”


End file.
